Ed Balls has tried to laugh off the Labour football side's trouncing at the hands of a team of political journalists.

The Labour team, featuring Balls as well as fellow frontbenchers Jim Murphy, Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan, was handed a 4-0 mauling by the Lobby in the traditional party conference football match at Sussex county FA's headquarters in Lancing yesteday.

But the shadow chancellor tried to take the sting out of the defeat by comparing his team to Manchester United, who went down 4-1 to bitter rivals Manchester City just hours after the press v MPs match.

Mr Balls told LBC 97.3 radio: "Even Manchester United, as we saw yesterday, have their off-days. They lost 4-1 yesterday, we lost 4-0.

"Andy Burnham, the Robin van Persie of the Labour team, didn't quite deliver. Wayne Rooney sometimes gets frustrated and I get frustrated sometimes.

"The years are passing by, and I'm having to compensate for a slight lack of edge in pace, but next year I'll be back strong. Two goals last year, none yesterday, but next year I'll be back with a hat-trick."